Surge protectors are not new. They have been on the market for a long time and have been purchased by millions of Americans. But most Americans don’t know how surge protectors have improved over time. Nowadays, surge protectors are loaded with advanced features that amplify their usefulness. Let’s consider 5 important benefits of installing surge protectors below:
1: Monitoring Power Management
Recent developments in surge protection feature smart technology and connectivity. These days, you can buy surge protectors that carefully monitor energy consumption and shut down appliances when they detect any atypical power spike.
These smart upgrades allow homeowners to monitor the safety and power usage of their entire home with real-time data displayed on a smartphone app. The surge protectors can also be controlled remotely and adjusted to the homeowner’s needs. This ensures optimal safety.
2: Protection of Appliances
The traditional role of surge protectors is to protect appliances from damage when the electrical voltage in the home surges. Surges can happen due to natural weather events, such as lightning strikes, or defects in the power grid or home wiring.
The largest appliances are more likely to draw a surge and can be expensive to replace, especially if a chain reaction were to occur that damages multiple appliances at once. Although a breaker box provides some level of protection when a circuit is overloaded, many appliances can share the same circuit and experience severe damage before the circuit breaker is tripped.
3: Fire Prevention
The traditional role of surge protectors is to prevent fires. When the components in appliances are damaged by electrical surges, they can easily catch on fire because electric energy often transforms into heat energy when it encounters any resistance.
An appliance fire can destroy irreplaceable collectibles and sentimental memories of events in the home. In the worst-case scenario, the fire can start when the family is asleep and unaware. These types of fires claim the most lives.
4: Multi-Functionality
Many surge protectors come in strips that maximize the number of sockets available in a room. These strips provide protection while allowing homes to power more devices without the risk of overloading a circuit. This is particularly useful for home entertainment systems that may be comprised of many components stacked together.
A high-quality entertainment system will often have a turntable, compact disc player, Blu-Ray disc player, cassette player, equalizers, amplifiers, home theater systems, active speakers, televisions, projectors, and other devices all loaded on the same wall circuit. And using a regular extension cord presents a major fire hazard.
5: Peace of Mind
At the end of the day, the reduced stress that surge protectors provide is priceless. When you invest in high-quality surge protectors for your home, you can sleep a little better at night. You don’t worry as much when a thunderstorm strikes. And you cannot be held liable for negligence in the event of an electrical fire.
If third parties are injured under your roof, they can theoretically sue you under your homeowner’s policy for reasonably foreseeable negligence in failing to install surge protectors, especially on an overloaded extension cord.
